Teaching English

I offer English language tuition as part of my services. When teaching, I am able to draw on my certificate in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), years of formal and informal teaching experience, and, most notably, five months of classroom teaching experience in Klagenfurt, Austria. While in Austria, I taught English four days a week to students of varying ages and levels. I have also taught a number of students with learning difficulties. I really enjoy TEFL, and attend training events whenever possible to keep my skills current.

Business engagement classes

During my time in Austria, I also taught business classes two days a week to students aged 17 to 20. The aim of these classes was not to teach the finer points of doing your annual accounts, but to arm the students with practical knowledge and communication skills which can be applied immediately in the world of work, thus enabling them to start their careers off on the best possible footing. My classes included lessons on the following topics:

Adopting a confident, professional, and business-oriented mindset

Know your audience: how to make the most of various marketing tools (incl. company profiles, mission statements and websites)

Crafting a genuinely effective CV/profile

Networking etiquette

Selling yourself in an interview

Succeeding at conferences and exhibitions

Negotiating for good-quality clients

Co-founder of the South Central Translators Network

After noticing a lack of professional groups and associations for translators and interpreters in Central Southern England, I teamed up with a fellow Portsmouth-based colleague to create the Southern Translators Network in May 2015. The aim of the group is to network, organise socials, and swap ideas, advice and tips. Many members are recent graduates who are reaping the benefits of informal mentoring by their more established colleagues. The group currently uses Facebook and Twitter to stay in touch and attends regular tweet-ups in Portsmouth, a city on all major public transport routes.